In the manor (story)

The story was written in 1894. First published in 1894 in the newspaper “ Russkiye Vedomosti ” No. 237 dated August 28 with the signature of Anton Chekhov, in the same year was published in the collection “Stories and Stories”, entered into the collected works of the writer, published by A.F. Marx.

During the life of Chekhov, the story was translated into English, Serbo-Croatian and Czech.

Writer A. S. Lazarev noted that the story was written under Chekhov’s impressions about life in Babkin in 1887: “Once ... Chekhov’s sister returned from Kiselev’s house. Maria Pavlovna told that ... and cook children to study, to gymnasiums and indignantly said that the authorities are inclined to make peace, instead of driving them out of schools and gymnasiums ... After listening to the story of the sister, Chekhov shrugged his shoulders and said with annoyance: "And you wanted to listen to this fool ! ”

Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, in a letter to the author of the story, wrote: ““ In the Estate ”is a classic play, I assure you. Makes an overwhelming and huge impression. Even among your stories this is one of the best. ” ^[2]

Critic S. A. Andreevsky considered the story a caricature of the "insatiable talker" ^[3] .

In his article on Chekhov’s works, V. Al'bov noted: “In the Manor” among other Chekhov’s stories, masterfully drawing “whole animal, animal figures” ^[4] .

• Pavel Ilyich Rashevich, a nobleman, the owner of the house.
• Meyer, a tradesman, a young judicial investigator.
• Two daughters Rashevich, Zhenya and Iraida, 24 and 22 years old.

Pavel Rashevich, a widowed nobleman, takes in his house judicial investigator Meyer. With excitement, he develops ideas about the intellectual superiority of the nobility of “noble blood”. Rashevich, being a young man, could have made a party for his eldest daughter, Zhenya, and then all the troubles and debts on the estate would be transferred to his son-in-law. And the debts and penalties he had accumulated about two thousand rubles.

Rashevich's long speech annoys Meyer, but due to politeness he stays at dinner. Rashevich came to the point that he suggested that if the dirty one approaches him, then he needs to say “right in the muck” the words of neglect: “Hands off! Cricket, know your hearth! ”Meyer answered these words, he would not be able to do that, because he is a tradesman himself, and his father was a simple worker. After that, Rashevich was embarrassed, and his daughters turned red. Then Meyer said that he was proud of his position and left.

The daughters were offended by their father and did not want to meet with him the next morning. Then Mayer began to write a letter to his daughters, asking him to take into account that he was old, nobody needed him, asked him to forget about him and bury him in a “simple pine coffin, without ceremony”.

• A.P. Chekhov. In the Estate // A.P. Chekhov. Complete Works and Letters: 30 t. Works: 18 t. / USSR Academy of Sciences. Institute of World Literature them. A. M. Gorky. - M .: Science, 1974-1982.
• Dans une gentilhommière, notes page 1015, traduit par Édouard Parayre, révision de Lily Dennis, éditions Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1971, ISBN 2 07 0106 28 4 .
• Voir Dictionnaire Tchekhov, page 43, Françoise Darnal-Lesné, Édition L'Harmattan, 2010, ISBN 978 2 296 11343 5 .

• Chekhov A.P. In the estate . Original Russian text